Beached
by TaleofUrban
Summary: It has been a full week since the five paladins have left Earth and they're started to feel a little homesick. Even though they told Allura they wanted a break she still was hesitant about giving them one. After a bit of luck and a lot of hacking, the team finds a way to have the break they dreamed of...but at what cost?


Lights flashed bright red and alarms blared. The white corridors of the ship echoed with the sound of footsteps. One by one each paladin made their way to the bridge of the ship. They expected signs of danger but none could be seen. The only thing that could possibly mean danger was the look on Princess Allura's face. Her foot was tapping on the floor and her arms were crossed as she scowled at the paladins before her.

"You're late," she said sternly.

The paladins shuffled nervously and averted their eyes.

Lance took a bold step forward and winked at the princess, "May I just say, out of all the stars in the sky you shine the brightest."

Everyone let out a collective groan. Coran stopped twirling his mustache and put his hands on his hips, "We needed to test our alarm systems and wanted to make sure they worked. We also wanted to make sure that our defenders of the universe were working to."

Allura nodded, "Unfortunately, all of you have failed that test. Did you even bother looking for your uniforms?"

Shiro sighed, "Allura, we're still new to this whole...universe saving thing. You can't expect us to be perfect right away."

Keith brushed his hair out of his face, "Shiro's right. We've only been here a week and we've barely gotten any rest. Maybe if we take a break-"

"There will be no breaks! Zarkon is roaming the galaxy taking over worlds and we need to be ready to stop him," she shouted.

Pidge adjusted her glasses, "Princess, according to science and common knowledge, it's healthier to take breaks than to...you know...overwork."

Hunk nodded in agreement, "Don't forget eating three meals a day!"

Coran rubbed his chin and looked at Allura, "Number five has a point."

Pidge tilted her head, "Number five?"

"Yes! I ranked all of you by height. Pidge is number five and Keith-"

Keith glared at Coran and he stopped mid-sentence. He coughed before continuing, "Anyway,

Pidge has the right idea of letting the paladins take a break."

Allura examined the paladins with her crystal-blue eyes. She sighed, "Alright. You may take a break but only for a day. Is that clear?"

The paladins nodded in unison and split off in different directions. Allura watched them leave and took a seat.

Coran walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder, "It will be okay princess."

"Do you really think they can save the universe?"

He nodded, "Of course, after all, they were chosen by the lions."

She chuckled, "I suppose you're right."

"You should take a break too. King Alfor wouldn't want to see you stressed like this."

"No...he wouldn't," she stood and walked over to the door. "Make sure the paladins don't cause too much damage alright?"

"Of course princess, now go."

Meanwhile, the other paladins have gathered around in the lounge. Keith stood off to the side with his arms crossed watching the others talk.

Lance leaned back in his seat, "I miss swimming you guys."

Pidge rolled her eyes while typing on her computer, "We have a pool in the castle, Lance."

"It's in the ceiling. Who puts a pool in the ceiling?"

Keith snorted, "Alteans."

"I didn't ask for your opinion mullet."

"Guys," Shiro started, "We have a break. Maybe instead of arguing we can figure something out."

Hunk, "What if we go to a beach?"

Everyone turned and faced Hunk. He hid his face in embarrassment, "I-I mean we are in a spaceship that can make portal jumps."

"Hunk is right," Pidge spoke up. "We could use our lions and fly to a planet with a beach and relax for a while."

"I don't know guys. Allura wants us close by and I don't think we should leave without her permission," Shiro said.

"Then we take the whole castle!" Lance shouted.

Keith stormed over, "No no no. Do you know how crazy and ridiculous that is? Besides, the only person who can pilot the castle is Allura."

Pidge pushed up her glasses and smirked, "Unless we hack the ship."

"Let's go!" Lance ran out of the room and to the bridge of the ship. Pidge followed and the rest of the paladins took their time.

"This is a stupid idea," Keith mumbled under his breath.

Shiro put a hand on his shoulder, "Relax Keith. Let them have their fun."

When the rest of the paladins entered the bridge, Pidge could be seen crouched next to the control panel. She sat cross-legged and tapped various wires together until the ship lurched forward, "I got it!"

Hunk stumbled and clutched his stomach, "Can you slow this thing down a little bit? I think I'm going to vomit!" Before anyone could say anything else, he ran behind a chair. The paladins winced knowing what had just happened.

Lance cringed, "Hunk...that's disgusting."

"I can't help it," he croaked.

"There's no point in slowing it down, besides we're almost there," Pidge said looking back.

Shiro frowned, "Where is there?"

She stood and pointed at the large window, "Right there."

The ship slowed and a large planet loomed before them. As they decided, they could see that it was made entirely of beaches. The waves glistened in the light of the planet's sun.

Lance beamed, "This is amazing! Look at how blue the water is."

Keith rolled his eyes, "It's just a beach, Lance."

He gasped and put his hand over his heart, "This is not just a beach. This is a planet made of beaches!"

Shiro sighed, "Let's just enjoy our time off okay?"

The paladins cheered and ran to their rooms to get their stuff. Within minutes the team was outside of the ship making their way toward the water. Lance ran and dove in. His head popped up seconds later and a large grin spread across his lips.

"Come on in guys! It's perfect!"

Hunk walked over and slowly waded in. Pidge studied the water and set up a towel nearby. She pulled out a book and started reading it. Shiro stood with Keith and nudged him gently.

"What Shiro?"

"Go have fun. This is our break and you need it most of all."

He lowered his head, "I-I don't know Shiro. I'm not the kind of guy who has fun."

"Well this is your opportunity," he said and pushed Keith into the water.

"Hey!" he shouted and splashed Shiro.

He jumped back surprised but smiled. Lance snuck up behind Keith and dumped water on his head. Keith spun around and grabbed Lance, dragging him into the water. Hunk laughed from a safe distance.

Pidge lowered her sunglasses to watch the group and rolled her eyes, "Boys."

Hunk looked over at the castle and his eyes widened, "Guys...we have a problem."

Everyone looked over at the castle. At the bottom of the steps, Allura was standing with her arms crossed over her chest. Coran ran over to the paladins with panic written across his face. She followed behind him while the paladins walked out of the water.

Allura tapped her foot on the sand, "Where are we?"

Shiro gulped, "The team and I thought it would be best to take a break somewhere familiar."

"Yeah!" Lance started, "Back on earth people take vacations to beaches kinda like this one." He looked at the water sadly, thinking of home.

Allura looked at the water then at the paladins, "I'm sorry I didn't realize that you were homesick."

"I never said I was homesick," Keith muttered.

Lance nudged him in the ribs and walked over to Allura, "We understand that you want us to save the universe but we used to have lives of our own on earth. If you give us more days like this we will be fully trained paladins in no time! We just need breaks."

Coran nodded in agreement, "Lance does have a point, you didn't become a fully trained princess in one day."

Shiro smiled and put a hand on Allura's shoulder, "Why don't you join us."

She looked at everyone around her and smiled, "Alright. Let's have some fun!"

The paladins and Allura spent the rest of the day on the beach. Coran smiled proud of Allura. She may have lost her parents and the rest of her race but she was able to find a family with the paladins. As the sun set, the castle flew into a sea of stars and the paladins trained for their next adventure as the Defenders of the Universe.


End file.
